"We felt he had a part to play for the remainder of the season, but unfortunately that will no longer be the case.

"Like Andy Short, we have no choice but to follow similar action with Luke. He won't play any further part in our campaign."

Former Bedford player Baldwin released a statement through the club which read: "As I'm sure many of you can appreciate, there is only a small window of time in professional sport and, as a result, tough decisions have to be made.

"I feel there is a good opportunity for me to go and play regular rugby, something that was not always possible at Bristol.

"This was purely a rugby decision and bears no reflection on my fellow team-mates, management or the club."